Method of and apparatus for winding and unwinding materials for dyeing and for other purposes



194' .1. @LUSMWH, METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND UNWINDINGMATERIALS FOR DYEING AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES Filed Nov. 29, 193$ 22Sheets-Sheet l m T N E V m ATTORNEY LE3. J. GOLDSMITH METHOD OF ANDAPPARATUS FOR WINDING mm UINLWINDIMG MATERIALS FOR DYEING AND FOR OTHERPURPOSES Filed NOV. 29, 1958 2 shwts sheet 2 viii??? INVENTOR BE/PTRHMJ. GOLD5MITH BYE- v g ATTORNEY Patented Mar. 1941 men sures PATENTOFFICE METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR WINDING AND UNWINDING MATERIALS FORDYE- HNG AND FOR OTHER PUEPO$ES ti @iaims.

This invention relates to en epparetus for and e method of dyeingfabrics and is applicable also end more broadly generally to thetreatment of iethrics and other materials which are ordinarily Wound ino, roll end ere required to he unwound, usuelly tor the purpose ofsubjecting such inciteristls to the notion oi u fluid.

nine ohiect of the invention is to provide on improved apparatus ior endit method oi dyeing iuhrics, the method heine such thut the unporetusnreiernhly. utilized ior heriormine the method tulses up u relutirelysmelt snuce. linother udvnntone oi the present method and upneretusresults ironi the relntively low tension on the iehric in the unuindhoethereof irorn the roll es .uiccessire portions oi the iuhric ere hrouehtinto eontect with the dye liquid.

duet-her ohiect oi the invention is to provide on eiiieient upperutusl'or neriorrnine the iiihtli ed, the nppuretus helnrr onerntire toeutornnticnilr' unwind the iuhric from its orieiuei roll end to re-nindthe some on the core or drum oi sold roll.

.ii-i'urther ohiect oi the invention is eenerulir to uroride on improvedmethod oi iniuindine iehrlcs or other inuteriels irorn n roll forsuhiectine sue cessive portions oi the iehric to the notion oi u. dyeineliuuid or other liquid or iluid.

The shove ohiects end udrenteees oi the invention end other udrnntouesthereoi" will he more iully understood iroin the ioilowine descriptionconsidered with reierence to the ucconinunyine dreuines iiiustrntine thenreierred eiuhodirnent oi the intention,

- in the drew/inns:

l lo. i is n side View oi en unperotus embody luu; the presentinvention. end utilised ior nertoruiine the method thereoi;

ii is on end ulcer, in elevetion, oi no ere-tun; t

ii is u sectionei view on the hue oi Fi ies. tto t, inclusive, ere viewsiiiustretine more or less diuereniniuticully the severed steps in themethod.

lFieierrinu new to the drnuines in deteil, the method oi the presentinvention will he descrihed iirst rind thereuiter the presentlypreferred iorin oi" the epneretus utilised ior neriorniinu the rnethodwill he described.

Accordingly, reierrine to F le. 2 end liies. i to ii, inclusive, n rollR oi fabric or other meterlul including o, core or drum iii about whichthe rneteriel is wound, is shown mounted for rotation within it rotaryouter drum i2 conteininethe dye liquid L. The inner end of the fabricwinding is secured to the periphery of the inner drum or core I!) oi theroll as indicated at H. The outer end portion ii of the roll of materialis unattached, whereby the roll is free to unwind when the roll isrotated.

Atthe start of the operation the outer end portion it of the fabricwinding hangs freely as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 2, but uponrotstion of drum ill, sold fehric portion it is impelled by centrifugedforce towerd the inner surface of the outer drum it, end is therebycaused to proiect through the liquid L contained in 01mm it intoengagement with sold inner surface oi the outer drum. Enid inner endouter drums iii end it, respectively, sure then rotated simultaneouslyin the same direction hut ot diiierent sneeds oi rotation. Assuming thatthe materiel Wes Wound on. the inner drum iii hy rototing ssicl drum itin n counter-clockwise direction, then in per forming the method thedrums ere rotated in u counter clocirwise direction as indicated by thearrows in severed figures of the drowines. Stert inn with the conditionof the rnuterinl in which it is mounted on the inner drum iii, hevineheen Wound on sold drurn hy countencloclrwise rotetion of the letter,the outer drum is roteted sonnewhot tester then the inner drum. Foreruninle; with e, rotdtion oi ltd revolutions per minute oi the innerdruin, the outer drum is roteted st soy hi2 revolutions per minute or uto higher speed. murine the rotetion oi outer drum it, the humid thereinis impelled hy centriiue'nl force into cylindricnl iorniution ediucentthe inner our tree of the outer uuu eornnletely thereeround. it will heunderstood thut the uuentity oi liquid i; is suuicient to nrovide neylindricsl leyer thereof when the drum is rotuted, hut is helour theopening in the drum "when the letter ste tionury.

its the drums continue to rotate, the iehric or other innteriul fromroll 1% on the inner drum it unu inds hour the inner driun end errenecsitseli in the iorrn oi n Windine lyinu edisceut the inner suriuce, oithe outer driun. in Flu. oi the drewions the inloric is shorternurtielly unwound item the inner drum it end nortisily Wound in theouter drum i t. it will he understood thot in thus unwinding irorn theouter drum end urruneine itseli in the term oi e, winding in the innerdrum, the iehric of roll it passes through the liquid in the outer-drumend is subjected to the notion thereof. in Fig. 5 the roll it is showncompletely unwound from its core or inner drum it end is errenged in theterm of o winding RA edjecent the inner suriece or the outer drum. Forthe sake of clearness, only a few convolutions of the windings areillustrated and the convolutions are shown spaced from each otherradially of the center of the winding. but it will be understood that inactual practice the convolutions of the windings on the inner and outerdrums are adjacent each other.

After the fabric is completely unwound from the inner drum ill, into theform of a roll RA in the outer drum, said fabric is re-wound on innerdrum it. This is accomplished by continuing the rotation of the innerand outer drums in the same direction and at the same relative speeds,that is the inner and outer drums rotate in the same di rection butouter drum i2 continues to rotate faster than inner drum it. Thisre-winding oi the material from the roll EA to the roll R on the innerdum iii accomplished as just stated without altering the direction orrelative speeds of rotation or" said drums, takes place by reason of thefact that the inner end of the material of the winding is as previouslystated fixed to the periphery oi the inner drum. Fig. 6 of the drawingsillustrates the step of rewinding the material from the roll RA to theroll It on. the inner drum it, and it will be observed that thedirection of winding of the material on the inner drum is at this stage01 the process opposite to the direction of wind of the material of rollR at the start of the process illustrated in Fig. l.

After the material is re-wound on the inner drum iii, in the stage ofthe process just previously mentioned, said material is again caused tounwind from said inner drum it and to again arrange itself in the formof a winding RA adjacent the inner surface of the outer drum i2. This isaccomplished without interrupting the rotation of the inner and outerdrums and without changing the direction of rotation of said drums, butby now reversing the relation of the speeds of rotation of said innerand outer drums, in other words by now rotating the inner drum iiifaster than outer drum [2. Fig, 7 shows the material partially unwoundfrom the roll R at this stage of the process, that is by rotating innerdrum Ill faster than outer drum it, the different revolutions per minutebetween said drums being about the same as at the start of the process.Fig. 8 shows this stage of the process completed, the material beingcompletely unwound from the inner drum l0 and arranged in the form of awinding RA on the outer drum 12. Then the fabric is again rewound on theinner drum I0 by continuing the rotation of said drums in the samedirection, with inner drum I0 rotating faster than outer drum 12 untilthe material is again completely re-wound on said inner drum. At thisstage of the process the winding of the roll R of material on the innerdrum is in the same direction as it was at the start of the process asherein described. This is illustrated in Fig. 9.

The above described steps are repeated as often as is desired ornecessary for the proper treatment of the material, or as will bereadily understood, in some cases it may be necessary merely to unwindthe material from the inner drum and to arrange it in the form of awinding in the outer drum, or to complete only one cycle consisting ofunwinding the material from the inner drum, arranging it in the form ofa winding in the outer drum and then rewinding the material on the innerdrum.

The apparatus which will now be described and whichis illustrated inFigs. 1 and 2 of the drawings is well adapted for performing the abovedetions of said drums.

scribed method. As here shown, the outer drum i2 is carried by a sleeveor hollow shaft 20 journalled for rotation in bearings 22, said outerdrum 52 being thus mounted for rotation. The inner drum it or core ofthe roll of material is mounted for rotation within outer drum i2 andfor that purpose is, as here shown, carried by and for rotation with aspindle or shaft 2d which extends through sleeve ll'ii into drum i2.Shaft 2a is mounted for rotation within and in relation to sleeve 2a inany suitable manner, as for example by means of roller bearings 26mounted within sleeve 29. Sleeve it has a gear 28 fixed thereto. Saidgear is driven by a gear Eli fixed to a rotary shaft 32 driven in anysuitable manner, as by a pulley 3d operated by a belt 36 driven by amotor lvl'.

Provision is made for rotating the inner and outer drums at differentspeeds, more specifically by rotating said drums so that one alternatelyr0- tates faster than the other. For this purpose shaft 26 is providedwith relatively large and small gears and dd, respectively, which meshwith relatively small and large gears 32 and dd, respectively, on shaft32. A two-way clutch 46 is splined to shaft 24 whereby said clutch canmove longitudinally of the shaft but not circumferentially thereof, saidclutch being thus rotatable with shaft 26. Gears 38 and 38, on the otherhand, when disengaged from clutch fit can move freely about said shaftbut are fixed longitudinally thereof. Gears i2 and dd are fixed to shaft32' longitudinally thereof and rotate with said shaft, and are at alltimes in mesh with companion gears 38 and tit, respectively.

Said last mentioned gears are provided with clutch engageable elementsill and 50, respectively, for eiiecting rotation of said ears whenengaged by said clutch. A yoked lever 52 pivoted as at 58 is providedfor moving clutch 46 into en gagement with gears 38 and. 4Balternatively. It

will be understood that when the clutch is in engagement with gear 38,shaft it rotates more slowly than sleeve 2t with the result that outerdrum 52 rotates faster than inner drum l0. When, however, it is desiredto reverse this relation of speeds of rotation of said inner and outerdrums, clutch 6t is disengaged from gear 38 and is engaged with gear 46,and in that case shaft 24 rotates faster than sleeve 20 and of courseinner drum Ill rotates faster than outer drum l2. Y

In accordance with the present invention, provision is made forautomatically periodically reversing the relation of speeds of rotationof the inner and outer drums, or more specifically to automaticallyrotate one drum faster than the other after a predetermined number ofrevolu- A mechanism suitable for this purpose is illustrated in Fig. 1of the drawings. As here shown, said mechanism comprises a worm gear 52fixed to and rotated by shaft 32.

Said worm gear meshes with and drives a worm wheel 54. Said worm wheelis provided with a metal segment 56 connected in series with the windingW'of an'electro magnet 58. More spefore, that when-electro-magnet 58 isenergized,

llii

which is the case as long as brush 68 is in engagement with segment 58,armature 8B is attracted and holds clutch 46 in engagement with gear 38.When, however, after a predetermined number of revolutions of shaft 32,brush, 66 is disengaged from segment 56 so, that the circuit throughwindlug W of electro-magnet 58 is interrupted, spring 12 is effective toactuate the yoked lever 62 whereby to disengage clutch 48 from gear 38and to engage said clutch with gear 40. Thereafter as worm wheel E lcontinues to rotate, brush 86 again engages segment 66 to complete thecircuit through winding W of the electro-magnet 58 for attracting thearmature 68 on yoked lever 52, thereby disengaging clutch 46 from gear48 and engaging said clutch with gear 38.

As illustrated in the drawings, provision is made for supplying liquidto drum l2 and the liquid supplying device is such in accordance withthe preferred form oi the invention that the supply may take placeduring rotation of the drums. For this purpose a fluid delivery pipe it,pivotally mounted as at it on a supply pipe I8, is provided. Saiddelivery pipe i i has a bent portion 89 which extends through openingill in the front of the drum it to a point adiacent the inner surfacesof said drum. It will be understood that opening it is large enough topermit the passage of the bent portion iii of delivery pipe it to saidopening into and out of the drum, said delivery pipe being turned on itspivot it for such purposes. A pipe arrangement similar to thearrangement for sup-=- plying liquid is preferably provided forexhausting liquid from drum l l. Thus as here shown an enliaust pipe 32similar to delivery pipe M is mounted on pivot lit for turning movementabout a pipe Exhaust pipe it has a bent portion it which passes throughopening It and terminates adjacent the inner surface at outer drum it.Thus both delivery pipe it and exhaust pipe iii are associated with theapparatus so that liquid may be supplied to and removedlrom drum itduring the rotation thereoi. Accordingly, circulation of the dye orother liquid may take place during the treatment of the material whilethe latter is on wound from roll it and rewound into said roll.

It will be understood that the front of the drum in which the opening itis provided is preferably removably secured to the front peripheral edgeof outer drumlt. as here shown, said front end of the drum is providedwith an observation opening sealed by a glass or other transparent window d'i. The front wall of drum i2 is removable to permit the insertionand removal of the fabric roll R, the inner drum I or core of the rollbeing removable from spindle or shaft 23, suitable provision being madefor fixing said inner drum to said shaftso as to rotate with the latter.It will he understood that as herein described the inner drum it may bea member which remains permanently on the shaft 24 or may be the core ofthe iabric roll.

Thus it is seen thatthe method and apparatus hereihbefore described arewell adapted to accomplish the obiects of the present invention. It willhe understood that while the present method and apparatus are intendedprimarily for use in the dyeing oi fabrics, especially broad iabrics,the method and apparatus may be used for other purposes, for example forwashing fabrics or other materials or for subjecting said fabrics totreatment by gases, vapors, or other fluids, the present method ofwinding and unwinding the fabrics being especially suitable for thusexposing successive portions of a roll of material to the action ofvarious fluids. It will be understood also that while I have illustratedand described the preferred form of the method and the preferred form ofthe apparatus, variations in both method and apparatus will occur toskilled artisans in view of the present disclosure. Therefore, I do notwish to be limited to the method and apparatus or to either of them, asherein specifically shown or described, except as may be required bythescope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. Apparatus of the character described comprising a rotary outer drumadapted to contain a dye or other liquid or fluid, an inner drum,mounted for rotation within said outer drum, means for rotating saiddrums at difierent speeds, respectively, and means automaticallyoperative after a predetermined number of revolutions of one of saiddrums to reverse the-relation of the speeds of rotation of said drums.

2. Apparatus of the character described comprising a rotary outer drumadapted to contain a dye or other liquid or fluid, an inner drum mountedfor rotation within said outer drum concentrically thereof, said innerdrum adapted to carry a roll of fabric or other material ior rotationtherewith, means for rotating said drums at different speeds,respectively, and means automatically operative under the control of apredetermined number of revolutions of one of said drums to reverse therelation of the speeds at rotation of said drums.

3. Apparatus of the character described cont prising a rotary outer drumadapted to contain a dye or other liquid or hold, an inner drum mountedfor rotation within said outer drum concentrically thereof, means forrotating said drums at different speeds, respectively, means foractuating said drum rotating means, and means operative automaticallyduring the operation of said actuating means to reverse repeatedly atregular intervals the relative speeds of rotation oi said drums,

4%. Apparatus of the character described comprising a rotary outer drumadapted to contain a dye or other liquid or fluid, an inner drum mountedfor rotation within said outer drum concentrically thereof, said innerdrum adapted to carry a roll of fabric or other material for rotationtherewith, means including adjustable gearing for rotating said drums atdiflerent speeds, respectively, and means for adjusting said gearingautomatically operative after a predetermined number of revolutions ofone of said drums to reverse the relation of the speeds of rotation ofsaid driuns.

5.. The method of treating iabric or other material wound in a rollmounted for rotation within a drum containing a dye or other liquid orfluid,

said method comprising simultaneously rotating said drum and said rollin the same direction and at such different speeds, respectively, and insuch direction in relation to the direction of the winding of materialof the roll that the material unwinds from said roll and arranges itselfin the form cl a diderent winding in said drum.

e. The method oi treating fabric or other incterial wound in a rollmounted for rotation within a drum containing a dye or other liquid orfluid, the inner end of the winding of material being secured againstseparation from the core of the fabric roll, said methodcomprisingsimultaneously rotating said drum and said roll in the samedirection and at such different speeds, respectiven an) ly, and in suchdirection in relation to the direction of the winding of the material ofthe roll that. the material unwinds from said roll and arranges itselfin the form of a different winding in said drum, and thereaftercontinuing said rotation of said drum and the core or drum of thematerial roll whereby the material previously unwound from said core isrewound thereon into a roll.

'7. The method of treating fabric'or other material wound in a rollmounted for rotation within a drum containing a dye or other liquid orfluid, the inner end of the winding of material being secured againstseparation from the core of the fabric roll, said method comprisingsimultaneous- 1y rotating said drum and said roll in the same directionand at such different speeds, respectively, and in such direction inrelation to the direction of the winding of the material of the rollthat the material unwinds from said roll and arranges itself in the formof a different winding in said drum, and thereafter continuing saidrotation of said drum' and the. core or drum of the material roll sothat the material previously unwound from said core is rewound thereoninto a roll, thereafter reversing the relation in the speeds of rotationof roll and drum without changing the direction of rotation thereof,whereby the material again unwinds from the roll and is rewound in adifferent winding in said drum.

8. The method of treating fabric or other material wound in a rollmounted for rotation within a drum containing a dye or other liquid orfluid, the inner end of the winding of material being secured againstseparation from the core of the fabric roll, said method comprisingsimultaneously rotating said drum and said roll in the same directionand at such diiferent speeds, respectively, and in such direction inrelation to the direction of the winding of the material of the rollthat the material unwinds from said roll and arranges itself in the formof a difierent winding in said drum, and thereafter continuing saidrotation of said drum and the core or drum of the material roll so thatthe material previously unwound from said'core is rewound thereon into aroll, thereafter reversing the relation in the speeds of rotation ofroll and drum without changing the direction of rotation thereof,whereby the material again unwinds from the roll and is rewound in adifferent winding in said drum. and thereafter continuing the rotationof the core of the roll and of the drum in the same reversed speedrelationship so that the material is again rewound into a roll on thecore.

BERTRAM J. GOLDSMITH.

